On the recordNovember 3, 2015
I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Chairman, I am proud to support the Surface Transportation Reform and Reauthorization Act. This legislation is a product of hard work, done in a bipartisan manner, and it will give State and local governments some funding certainty for the first time in a long time. The bill makes important reforms that will speed up planning and permitting, that will give State and local governments increased control over transportation funds, that will help deal with freight bottlenecks, and that will provide new avenues to finance projects. After 35 short-term extensions to transportation programs since 2009, this long-term bill is exactly what we need. I want to thank Chairman Shuster and Ranking Member DeFazio for the hard work they have put in to building a bipartisan consensus around this bill on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and I hope the full House will join with us today to move this very important legislation forward. Mr. DeFAZIO. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
